Bulletproof Heart
by Valvert
Summary: Gerard Way and Frank Iero (Party Poison and Fun Ghoul) have always been Killjoys together before Frank is kidnapped by Korse and BL/ind. It's up to Gerard to rescue him, and come to terms with his feelings. (Rated T for language, slight sexual content, and homosexuality. Also torture)
1. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 1

Gravity don't mean too much to me  
I'm who I've got to be  
These pigs are after me, after you  
Run away like it was yesterday  
And we could run away  
If we could run away,  
Run away from here

The desert wind blew in Gerard's face as the car sped away from the Killjoy's diner headquarters. He had to get away from Ray and Mikey for awhile, had to get away from those goddamn cops, to find Frank, who had been captured by BL/ind- He sighed, turning up the stereo in the car until it was blasting as loud as it possibly could. The music could clear His mind from all this worry; temporarily take His thoughts off of Frank until He got there. He took a hand off of the steering wheel to touch the Ray gun attached to His belt. That gun could save him and Frank's lives, and if not His own then He'd die saving Frank.  
He swerved suddenly as a cop car appeared beside Him, seemingly out of nowhere. He sped up to try to get away, but the speed of the cop's car matched the speed of His own. He sighed as the cop sped up even more, getting closer and closer to Him. He didn't want to do this, He really didn't, but He had to—He pulled His gun out and shot at the cop a few times, right through the windshield. He heard the glass breaking and the cop swearing before the car behind Him stopped and the cop got out. Gerard slammed His foot on the gas and sped away from there as fast as He could possibly go.  
The arrival itself wasn't the hard part; the hard part was getting into the Headquarters, and finding Frank. And if Frank was all messed up and bleeding and bruised, everyone at BL/ind would die. Because that triggered one of His worst memories, from back when they were younger. Korse himself couldn't keep Gerard from saving His was their worst enemy. He had been after the Killjoys since they first existed.  
He was spotted immediately as He stepped through the doors. He pulled out His gun and began to fire as He was surrounded by all of the white suited Draculoids. He killed most of them and left the others wounded before running deeper into the giant white building to find Frank. As He made His Way through several hallways, he ran straight into His greatest enemy, the leader of BL/ind: Korse.  
"No doubt you've come here looking for your ally."  
"I'll fucking kill you."  
Korse laughed as if Gerard was nothing to worry about before replying "Highly unlikely. So before I kill YOU, would you like me to show you where your friend is?"  
Gerard balled His hands into fists as He followed Korse. Before He could shoot Korse from behind, the older man turned around and snatched Gerard's gun out of His hands. "You won't be needing that. I have other plans for you."  
And that was when Gerard realized how stupid He was for going with Korse. For all He knew, Korse was planning to take Him into some secluded area and kill Him. Or worse. He considered running, but before He could do anything about it Korse once again faced Gerard, this time pointing the newly obtained Ray gun at the red haired Killjoy. "Oh and by the Way… Try to leave and I'll kill you," he smiled.  
Five minutes later, to Gerard's disbelief, they arrived at a room filled with several barred cells. Gerard looked around the room, hoping to see Frank. The moment He saw the other Killjoy He began to feel a small Ray of hope. Frank wasn't Dead! He was amazed that Korse had actually brought Him where he said he would.

I've got a Bulletproof Heart  
You got a hollow point smile  
Me and your runaway scars  
Got a photograph, dreaming  
On the getaway mile

"Frankie…" Gerard whispered, walking up to the barred door of Frank's cell.  
"It's about time, Gee," Frank replied in a voice just as soft.  
Gee. Gerard loved it when Frank called Him that. He didn't know why, it just… Made Him feel a certain Way, almost as if He was still loved.  
"I'll get you out of here, I promise."  
Frank gave Gerard a smile that he'd been saving just for this moment, because even from the beginning of his captivity he hoped that Gerard was going to come and save him. Gerard had always been there for him no matter what happened, and this time was no different.  
That smile just made Gerard more determined and He gasped as He wrapped His fingers around the bars of the door and felt Frank's hand cover His own. He was so startled that He lost His grip as the sound of Korse's laughter filled His ears.  
"Just disgusting. But, I have to admit, you're making my ideas for you both so much more interesting."  
"It would be nice if you could tell us those ideas."  
"But if I did, the fun of the surprise would be gone."  
Gerard really wanted to kill Korse right now, to end it all; to go back home with Frank- but the damn guy had his gun. Still, He knew He had to get Frank out of there, and now He had some planning to do.  
"Hey Frank."  
"Mmm?"  
Gerard pointed up, then down, made a slashing motion across His neck, and then finally pointed to Frank's cell.  
He knew it looked stupid, but He couldn't say what He meant with Korse listening. He just hoped Frank remembered, and that He was successful.  
"Alright."  
Apparently Frank had understood. They'd made up a sort of code awhile ago when they were younger, when they'd been best friends and tried to run away from home. What Gerard had been trying to say was "Sometime tonight if I'm still alive, then I'll save you. Just let me come up with a plan."  
"Get out of here. I hope whatever you said to him was important, because this is the last time you'll ever hear his voice."  
As Gerard was led away by Korse, He looked back at Frank's now desperate eyes. He had to get them both out of there.


	2. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 2

"What did you… Want… With us?" Gerard said through gritted teeth. Korse had Him chained to a wall with His body completely covered by the metal links. Several Draculoids patrolled the area. They were easy to take down, but locked up and defenseless there was nothing Gerard could do.  
"Now… Not so fast." Korse grinned. "I have to have a little fun with you before you die. You'll be here all night, but when morning comes expect torture."  
Korse looked out at the night sky, which was jet black and starless. "Dracs, keep watch on this Killjoy. If he makes any attempt to escape, kill Him immediately."  
Korse walked away, leaving Gerard totally helpless. The chains were thick, and all the dracs in the area had their mask-covered eyes fixed on Him. He had to rescue Frank.

~ 16 years before current events ~

"Hi!"  
Frank came running up to Gerard with a big smile on his face.  
"Frank, are we still leaving here?"  
Frank nodded. "Yeah, of course!"  
"You still remember our code?"  
Frank answered only by nodding and pointing a finger towards his head. Then he pointed upwards, indicating that he would meet Gerard later that night.  
"Where are we meeting up anyway…?"  
Frank pointed to some bushes on the side of the road. "Here."  
Gerard looked into Frank's brown eyes and saw something He'd never seen there before.  
"What's wrong Frankie?" Gerard asked, worried.  
"Nothing Gee… It's just…"  
"Just what?"  
"I think I love you!" Frank blurted out.  
Gerard could only stare in shock at Frank, whose gaze pointed towards the ground. Damn it, he shouldn't have told Gerard, because Gerard would hate him. And be embarrassed to be anywhere near him. And maybe Gerard would even make fun of him, saying that he was gay and that their other friends Mikey and Ray should stay away from him… At the same time, it felt good to finally let Gerard know. He'd had a crush on Gerard for years. And now, standing before him, Frank had been unable to keep it in anymore.  
"Frankie."  
Frank barely met Gerard's eyes when he finally gathered the courage to look up. "Yeah…?"  
Gerard didn't say anything, just wrapped His arms around Frank and held him close for a long, long time. He was so happy that Frank trusted Him enough to say this. Frank had always been a little shy because his mother was incredibly abusive, and Gerard was the only person Frank trusted. He was able to befriend people, but it was unexplainably hard for him to let them know about who he really was inside, and the true terror of his life.  
"Look at Me, Frank."  
Frank looked up at Gerard again, his heart beating faster than he ever remembered.  
"I love you too."  
Frank was lost for words, caught up in the fact that after so many years of pain, he finally had something to be truly happy about and someone to live for. He rested his head against Gerard's shoulder and closed his eyes as he felt Gerard slowly rubbing his back. Gerard was so warm, he was almost tired… He hadn't been even hugged for so long, and Gerard's affection was the best thing he'd ever felt in his entire life, such a change from all the beating he was so used to…  
"Frankie, I can feel your heart beating." Gerard whispered into Frank's ear.  
"Yeah?"  
"Not only that, I can feel something in the Way you're holding on to me…"  
Frankie could only blush, and Gerard smiled. Frank was just so cute. Instantly, He was thinking about the possibility that He and Frank were made for each other.

~End of Flashback~

Gerard felt like crying in the darkness of BLI's headquarters. But… No. Fuck this. He had to be strong for Frank. And He had to find a Way to get out of here. His only hope was the Draculoids. Maybe… If He made it look like He was going to escape, then the dracs would shoot at Him, burning holes through the chains. And He could kick one down and take its gun- Yeah. That was the only thing He could do right now.  
He struggled in His chains, which made a lot of noise. Dracs began swarming around Him, readying their guns. The first one shot- A miss. But that was okay, there were many more, and it would take awhile to get through the chains. One bad shot could be fatal, but it was all He had.  
About 5 minutes passed before a noticeable gap formed in the chains, up by His neck. If He could get His arms free, that would be helpful… Then He realized something. The shots would be loud, and Korse would've heard them. So why wasn't Korse out here to kill Him?  
"SHIT!" Gerard swore loudly as one of the laser beams hit Him in the leg. Still, He was lucky that He hadn't been killed yet. Thank goodness the Dracs were somewhat stupid.  
Finally, FINALLY… He was able to get out. In the melee, a few Dracs had been killed by the others and their guns lay on the ground. Immediately, Gerard picked one up and shot several of them down. Thinking He'd killed enough, Gerard ran in the direction of the prison. He'd find it eventually. The question was, how long was eventually?  
He knew He had to hide. Breathing hard, Gerard rolled into a room with an open door. Luck had been on His side so far, so hopefully the Dracs wouldn't think to look in here. The room was dark, but Gerard's bright red hair would be a Dead giveaway. A tall potted tree was the first thing Gerard saw, so He ducked behind it.  
Peering through the leaves, Gerard saw that the Draculoids were going back to the area where He had been Korse's prisoner. That was… Really weird. Gerard didn't have time to debate why they were doing this, so as soon as He couldn't see any more of the white masked men He ran out of the room and down the hallway.  
Somehow, He was able to find Frank's cell, and He immediately ran into the room. "Frank," He whispered.  
Frank opened his eyes to see Gerard standing in front of him. "Gee, you're hurt! Your leg is bleeding really badly…"  
Fuck. Seeing Frank worrying about Him made Him upset, too upset to talk. He loved Frank, and the younger man didn't need to worry about Him.  
"Stay out of the Way," was His only reply. He raised the gun and shot through the lock on the barred doors of Frank's cell. The moment He opened the doors, Frank rushed over to Him.  
"Gerard…"  
Frank whispered the name so quietly, so carefully, it stunned the other man. Gerard could only gasp as Frank suddenly kissed Him. After a moment, Gerard remembered how to breathe, and how to control His shaking limbs. He managed to get His arms around Frank's torso to hold the other man closer against Him.  
"Frankie… You're so cold…"  
Gerard pulled away briefly to allow Himself and Frank to speak.  
"And you're so damn warm..."  
Gerard continued kissing Frank for another minute before stopping for good.  
Breathless, Gerard smiled at Frank.  
"As I said before… DISGUSTING."  
Both men turned around to see Korse standing right there, watching them.

Let's blow a hole in this town  
And do our talking with the laser beam  
Gunning out of this place in a bullet's embrace  
And we'll do it again

"Frank, keep yourself safe."  
Gerard pulled out the gun He'd taken from the fallen Drac and pointed it at Korse. "I'm not helpless anymore, and I should probably kill you now."  
Korse pulled Gerard and Frank's guns from his belt. "One of you unarmed, you with just a shitty Draculoid gun… And I have both of your weapons. Would you like to try this?" He grinned maliciously.  
Gerard didn't want to say anything to Korse, instead He shot at him. Korse easily dodged the laser and shot back at Gerard, two beams at once. Gerard ducked and barely missed getting shot in the head.  
"Frank… Run."  
They ran towards the room's exit, dodging lasers as they went. Gerard killed several of the Dracs as He left. Of course, as expected… Korse stopped them.  
"You aren't getting out of here."  
Then Korse did the unexpected… He shot Frank.  
Frank cried out in pain as he fell, unconscious but not dead. Still, it was enough to make Gerard's hatred of Korse rise even more.  
"You motherFUCKER!" Gerard yelled. He tried to shoot Korse down for good, only to find that the Drac's gun had run out of energy.  
Fully expecting to die, Gerard picked up Frank's wounded body. "Frank…" he moaned.  
Korse just laughed. "Well, looks like I found out your weakness… So, I'll watch you cry over him. By the Way… There's nothing you can do to help him. That should be torture enough for you. It'll be funner than just killing you right here."  
"What the hell do you mean I can't save him?"  
"The lasers from my gun spread poison throughout one's body. Over the course of a week, Frank will fade in and out of consciousness… Each time he is conscious, he'll wish he wasn't. The poison will cause immense pain to him, and all you can do is watch. Now that I know you two are lovers, I realized that seeing Frank hurt will also cause you extreme pain." Korse smiled the most evil smile he ever had, laughing inside at the thought of torturing Gerard and Frank together.  
"I'll let you go… For now. But once Frank's Dead, expect to die yourself."  
With those final words, Korse knocked Gerard out. His last thoughts: "Since when did Korse know about my past?"

How can they say  
Jenny would you come back home?  
'Cuz everybody knows you don't  
Ever wanna come back  
Let me be the one to save you

~Frank's POV~

One moment I was conscious, the next moment I could feel myself fading back into blackness. How long this went on, I don't know. Every time I was conscious, all I knew was an intense pain spreading throughout me. My skin felt as if it was burning. I could barely breathe. I dreamt terrible, horrible dreams, and I'd wake up in even more pain than before. I wasn't alone. Gerard was with me too. The first time I looked up at His face, tears were running down it. That was the start of my mental breakdown. Insanity overtook me, and I lashed out at Gerard without knowing it. Gerard didn't ever try to stop me; He'd just look at me with this incredibly sad look in His eyes. But then, I became too weak to even open my own bloodshot eyes. And Gerard kept holding on. Pain… Everywhere… Darkness… Must… Fight…

~Gerard's POV~

Korse didn't lie. Frank was drifting in and out of consciousness, and every time he was conscious I immediately wished he wasn't. He was in so much pain. His skin was so hot I could hardly bear to touch it. Korse had knocked me out and brought Frank and I to some random stretch of desert. With no food. No water. No car. No help. I could see Frank looking at me with glazed eyes. He looked so horrible… And then the craziness. He'd hit me in his sleep, trying to fight the obvious pain he was in. I didn't know what to do… My heart felt as if it was breaking. By the 3rd day I had to find water somehow. I laid Frank on the ground to search. It took the entire day for me to find a small oasis. When I put a drop of water to his lips, he was hardly able to take it in. He never spoke and the only sounds he made were helpless cries. Every time Frank woke up he was worse. And then… He stopped hitting me. He just… Stopped altogether. On the 5th day, he didn't even open his eyes. The unconscious blows were better than seeing him lying here on the verge of death. He couldn't die this Way, it was impossible. I wished I had my gun, I could shoot him myself, take him away from this pain. I battled myself for my sanity. I despised myself for being unable to save him. I hated seeing him this Way… I tried to tell myself he'd be okay, but I knew deep inside that he would never make it.

~End of POV's~


	3. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 3

Gerard looked up to see His car speeding down the desert highway. In the car were Mikey and Ray. It was too bad He was unable to speak, He prayed that His two allies would see Him and Frank laying there.  
Gerard couldn't hear much of what they said, He was in too bad of a condition to listen to anything. He felt His body being lifted by one of the two, He didn't know which- And that was the last thing He felt before blacking out.

Gravity  
Don't mean too much to me  
I'm who I've got to be  
These pigs are after me, after you  
Run away like it was yesterday  
When we would run away  
If we could run away, run away from here

~15 years before current events~

"No, I'm not lying to you. I swear."  
Frank's mother threw a crystal glass at Frank, and the sound of the breaking glass was a comfort compared to his mother's voice."  
"You are. You're with that Gerard kid."  
Okay, so they liked each other, but they weren't officially together or anything…  
"No. I'm not."  
"Frank Anthony Iero, I've had enough of your bullshit. Get your sorry ass over here before I beat you worse than I already plan to."  
Frank's father was in complete agreement with his mother, and Frank was unable to get away. They were in the Iero family's kitchen, and there were no doors leading outside. The entrance to the rest of the house was blocked by Frank's father.  
What choice did Frank have? He walked over to his mother, who immediately ripped off his shirt and began beating him with the first thing in sight—a knife. The sharp blade cut into Frank's back as his mother hit him with it. These cuts would become scars that wouldn't heal. Scars on Frank's outer body became deep wounds on his heart.  
Fifteen minutes later, Frank was lying on the kitchen floor surrounded by small pools of blood. He could hear his mother screaming at him "Clean that blood up right now, it makes me sick to see it!"  
Frank could hardly stand, he was so dizzy from the shock and the pain and the blood loss, but once again he could only do as his mother asked. He gritted his teeth as he bent over to wipe the floor clean . He was 16. He couldn't leave for 2 years. He wanted to run away with Gerard. Forever this time.  
Before he could walk to his room, his mother called him again.  
"FRANK!"  
"Yeah…"  
"That Gerard kid… You're never seeing Him again."  
As if. His mother wasn't going to keep him away from his best friend and possible lover.

"FRANK! WHAT HAPPENED?"  
The first thing Frank saw when he opened his bedroom window was Gerard. "Gee… You can't be here… Just… Not now…"  
"I'm not leaving you Frankie. Not while you're like this. Look at you. You're all cut up, and…" Gerard stopped talking to climb through Frank's window and onto his bed.  
"Gerard, if you don't leave soon she'll beat me until I black out-"  
"Listen to me Frank, please. I know you're hurting, I want to help you…"  
"I can't do anything while bleeding this badly."  
Gerard ripped off His shirt and pressed it against Frank's back. Frank grunted softly from the pain that came with the pressure.  
He couldn't object anymore. If his mom found him with Gerard though… He shuddered. He seriously didn't want to think about it. All he wanted was Gerard's arms around him, Gerard's voice telling him it was okay… He just wanted Gerard.  
Gerard looked at Frank again, who was just standing there, blood dripping onto the sheets of his bed and soaking through the shirt. "Shit… Frankie… I can't stand to see you like this… Can you tear off some strips of your sheets so that I can make you a better bandage?"  
Frank replied by ripping his sheets in half, then into several long strips. "Will this work?"  
"Yeah."  
"Sorry, this is going to fucking hurt."  
Gerard began tightly wrapping the white sheets around Frank's back, and Frank tried his best to stay quiet, to not let Gerard know how much pain he was in. Because every time he would make any sound, Gerard would get this devastated look on His face that tore Frank's soul apart. He wanted to fucking push Gerard down onto the bed and kiss Him, and hold Him so tightly, forever and ever and never let Him go. He loved Gerard so much. He couldn't even tell Gerard how deep his love was. But his back was all marked up, and he didn't want to get any more blood on Gerard, and he didn't want to make the other man upset at all…  
So he sat there, tangled in his emotions and the makeshift bandages Gerard was wrapping so gently around him. "Gee…" his voice was soft, almost reverent as he whispered the other man's name.  
"Ah-"  
Gerard just gasped as He looked at Frank's eyes.  
Gazing at Gerard made it harder to abstain from practically tackling Him, but Frank reached out to gently place a hand over Gerard's heart anyway. Despite the situation, Frank felt triumph when he felt it speed up as he touched the area. He then ran his hands over Gerard's entire chest, stroking it lovingly while still gazing into His eyes. But Gerard's voice, and the breathless sounds He was making—Frank gave up on holding back.  
"Frank… Ah…"  
Gerard found Himself unable to speak and unable to breathe. He was so broken inside; just seeing Frank like this was a nightmare come to life. And the look in his eyes was so deep- Filled with pain, hurt, anger, distrust, and love. So much love it was overwhelming. Gerard didn't know how to react. All He could do was hold the gaze as long as possible before the tears that were starting to come to His eyes fell down His face.

Frank couldn't hold it in anymore. He just forced Gerard onto His back and kissed Him. Hard. This kiss was the only Way he could show Gerard even a fraction of his feelings, the only Way to let out all this passion and hurt that had clouded his heart… And when Gerard kissed him back it felt oh so good… His world was Gerard's lips, Gerard's hands, Gerard's eyes… He was falling into the sound of Gerard's heart beating so quickly, and the intensity of his own love. He slipped his hands under Gerard's back and squeezed Him so hard against his body, he wanted to feel every part of the other man against him, Didn't want to let go and it was just so good—  
Until his mother walked in.

~End of Flashback~


	4. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 4

Frank remembered these things, amazed that he was able to fucking think at all. He wanted to say something to Gerard before he died, so badly.  
Gerard looked at Ray, worried about Frank.  
"Frank's here… But Gerard… He's going to die."  
"You can't let him."  
"Our only hope is a certain type of shot which we have back at the Diner. But it'll take us awhile to get there, and Frank's in dire need of it."  
"Then shut up and drive."  
Gerard looked around to see Frank's body stretched out across the back seats. His head was in Mikey's lap, and Mikey was bathing Frank's head with a strip of cloth he'd torn from his shirt and water they'd brought with them.  
"Frank…"  
There was nothing He could do until He got to the HQ. He hated that He was so fucking helpless…  
Every minute they had to drive made Gerard even more nervous, and He couldn't stop looking back at Frank to make sure He was okay.  
The entire drive was hell for Gerard, He felt so horrible, so sleep deprived, so fucking sick—and so much worry threatening to take over His mind. Finally, they got to the HQ—They only had a couple minutes to help Frank—  
"Mikey, go get the shot ready. It's our only hope."  
Mikey ran inside, and came back within half a minute. "Ray, do the shot. I'll take Gerard inside and start taking care of Him."  
Mikey picked Gerard up and carried Him away. All He could think about was Frank and how much He needed Him to be okay—And then His world went black for what must've been the 5th time that week.  
~Several hours Later~

Gerard opened His eyes to a familiar room. Mikey was standing next to Him with a surprised look on His face. "So you've finally woken up."  
"Aaaahhh…" Gerard moaned from the pain His entire body was in. "What's going on…?"  
"We brought you and Frank back from the desert, we gave Frank the shot—We don't know if he'll live—We brought you here, gave you some painkiller drugs, got you an IV, and that's about it."  
Frank. Suddenly Gerard's mind was spinning with His memories. Everything from before He was a Killjoy rushed back to Him at once. Knives. Frank's mother. Broken bones. Blood. How He had to lie to keep Frank alive. He'd broken Frankie's heart back then, and He was surprised that He'd been forgiven. Amazed that Frank still cared about Him. Shocked that He'd thought He'd loved Frank, after so many years. Most of all… Scared about the love Frank seemed to still have for Him.

~15 years before current events~

"Frank, that's it. You DID lie to me. Get off of Him and come out here RIGHT NOW. You! I-Don't-Give-a-fuck-who-you-are-or-what-Frank-thinks-of-you—Get the hell out of my house within ten fucking SECONDS!"  
That was the last Gerard saw of Frank for a week. What a hard, bitter week it was. Gerard sat around His house in the throes of depression, afraid of what had happened to Frank. Sometime during the illusions created by angst, Gerard made up His mind. He wasn't going to love Frank anymore. His heart would hurt, it would threaten to fall out of His chest, the pain would be so great—But He had to do this for Frank. He'd always love the younger man. Always. He realized that He'd have to pretend He didn't like Frank in order to keep the other man away from Him—For His own fucking sake.  
"Gerard."  
Gerard, who'd been sitting outside doing nothing, looked up to see Frank. His face was covered with bruises and cuts, his right wrist was broken, his eye was swollen and black- It hurt Gerard so much knowing what He was about to do. Frank was in so much pain already, and to add to it would be the most awful thing anyone could do. Still…  
"Frank… Listen."  
He almost choked on the words He was preparing to say.  
"Frank… I don't love you anymore. I'm done. Please don't ever talk to me…"  
Gerard could hear the tears in Frank's voice as he replied "Gerard, please tell me this is just a joke. Look at me Gee... I need you so fucking much, more than ever... I can't stop loving you."  
Gerard couldn't bear to see the expression on Frank's face, the one He knew would be distorted by all the cuts and swelling. So instead, He looked away and ran into His house. While locking the doors, He heard Frank yell "Why Gerard…? I HATE YOU!"  
The tears streamed down Gerard's face for so long He thought He'd never be able to cry again after this. His heart was so battered and so torn from this lie that He wanted to kill Himself. But He couldn't—Because eventually, He would see Frank again. He would tell Him the truth, and hopefully, He would earn Frank's heart back. The trust He'd taken so long to build was gone, washed away by Frank's blood and Gerard's tears. It was so hard for a person like Frank to trust anyone; He'd been betrayed by so many people so many times. He loved Frankie with an unreal passion. And that was why He had to break Frank's heart. "I love you," He whispered. "I always, always will."  
~End of flashback~  
"I DIDN'T WANT TO SAY IT!"  
Gerard yelled, struggling to sit up in the bed He had been laid in. He gripped the first thing in sight, which was Mikey's arm… And Mikey didn't mind when Gerard left deep dents and ripped skin with His nails.  
"What's going on?" Mikey asked, concerned.  
Gerard was so upset with Himself for being so weak, and for how He'd hurt Frank, who He knew still had a bleeding heart. He was still so in love with Frank, who didn't know. He now understood that back in BLI's prison when He'd held and kissed Frank, all He was doing was further fracturing the already broken pieces of the other Killjoy's heart.  
"Where is he?" Gerard whispered.  
"Frank?"  
Gerard only nodded His head.  
"Ray's taking care of him."  
"He's still alive?"  
"He's… Alive, but…"  
"Would you please take me to see him?"  
"I'm not sure you can handle-"  
"Michael James Way, I helped him for five fucking days in the desert. I witnessed his insanity. I need to see him in order to say alive myself."  
Sighing, Mikey lifted Gerard and set Him in a wheelchair which had been waiting next to the bed. "Gerard, promise you won't freak out, okay?"  
"I'll try not to."  
Mikey pushed Gerard's wheelchair until they arrived at the diner's kitchen which now served as a makeshift infirmary.  
At the sight of Frank, Gerard screamed.


	5. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 5

The Dracs surrounded them for a few minutes until Korse walked in. Wordlessly, he grabbed Frank by the wrists and tied him to a pole in the center of the room that Gerard hadn't seen because His vision had been blocked by the Draculoids. After tying the red haired Killjoy to a separate pole Korse walked over to a wall which was littered with hooks from which hung several types of whips. He took a moment to choose one, then proceeded to rip Frank's shirt off and begin hitting him.  
"FRANK! YOU HAVE TO FUCKING HOLD ON!" Gerard screamed at the top of His lungs.  
He stared with horror as Frank's face contorted with pain as Korse beat him.  
"Please… Gerard…" He cried out desperately as the whip hit his back for the 10th time.  
The worst part was that there was nothing Gerard could do to help Him. He could only be forced to watch Frank's blood spilled to the floor as more and more wounds were opened up.  
Korse laughed and Frank tried with all his will to not scream. He was attempting to stay quiet so Gerard wouldn't know how much pain he was in… He knew that Gerard would be next…  
Gerard struggled to get out of His bonds, but they were so fucking tight… And even if He managed that there were still the Dracs who had surrounded Him, guns pointed at His throat, ready to attack.  
Gerard's eyes widened as He watched the blood running down Frank's back. God, there were so many scars… He wondered what Korse thought when he saw the marks already on Frank's body, and if their enemy had seen the cut on Frank's upper arm…  
The sight of Frank being beaten so badly only brought up more memories of their bitter past. Frank's entire body shook with fatigue, and Gerard could tell he was about to pass out.  
Frank had been crying out with pain for the past half hour, and now as Korse finally threw the whip to the Dracs to be cleaned and unchained Frank, the young Killjoy collapsed on the ground, unable to stand.  
"Your boyfriend is unconscious… What a pity. We'll have to postpone your beating until tomorrow. Dracs! Take these men to the prison cells!"  
He forgot to tell the Dracs to keep them separate, and the stupidity of the masked men got Gerard and Frank thrown into the same cell. Gerard watched them walk away with Frank's blood literally dripping off of their hands. Once they were alone Gerard moved closer to Frank.  
"I need to clean you up…" He whispered to the unconscious man.  
He ripped off His shirt and pressed it to Frank's back which was bleeding so much more than it had when Frank's mother beat him. There was no Way that Gerard could make all the bleeding stop, but He kept the shirt pressed hard against Frank's back, hoping to stop at least some of it.  
"Aaaah…!"  
Frank moaned with agony as he slowly woke up.  
"You're awake?" Gerard asked gently.  
Frank was unable to reply; the only sounds he could make were those of pain.  
"I cleaned you up as much as possible…"  
Frank looked up at Gerard, who was now filled with worry and rage at the look of hurt in Frank's eyes.  
"Can you sit up?"  
Frank tried, but could only half sit with his shoulders barely touching the wall and Gerard's hand still on his back for support.  
"Frank, I swear to you I'll kill him, if it helps at all…"  
He realized that talking to Frank wouldn't soothe his pain, and for once He felt entirely hopeless.  
"Tell me if this hurts, okay?"  
He had to make Frank feel good somehow, so He just placed one hand on Frank's sweaty, heaving chest and stroked it softly. His heartbeat was horribly fast, so fast it worried Gerard. Probably because of all the bleeding…  
Frank's whole body tensed for a moment, and then he relaxed into Gerard's touch as much as possible with all the pain. He closed his eyes and he was still trembling like crazy, but he definitely seemed to be doing better… Gerard moved His hands lower until He was running His free hand up and down Frankie's legs, trying His hardest to take away even a small fraction of the pain.  
"Ah…" Frank made a small sound, whether it was pain or something else Gerard didn't know. He just kept stroking Frank's legs until he fell asleep, which amazed Gerard. Still, He kept the now soaked shirt pressed against Frank's back and one hand on his thigh…"  
"Hey fags, guess who your new prison guard is?"  
Gerard looked up into the menacing eyes of Frank's mother.  
"It was fun watching that beating! Frank really deserved it, and I hate that I was never able to give it to him myself… Maybe if I serve lord Korse well enough he'll let me beat you!" She literally giggled with malicious glee.  
Gerard couldn't say anything, couldn't take His hands off of Frankie, and couldn't do anything. If she was here then Gerard would be unable to give Frank what little attention He could provide… And this just might be The End for Frank, dying painfully in the enemy's headquarters… There was no fucking Way He could let that happen. He had to do something.


	6. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 6

The papers say  
'Johnny, won't you come back home?'  
'Cuz everybody knows  
You don't wanna give yourself up  
Tell the truth and god will save you

When Gerard finally felt the strength to walk again, He slowly stood up and made His Way to the kitchen/Frank's room. No one was there. Gerard walked up to Frank and sat down on the edge of the bed. He gently took Frank's hand, but it was so cold... And that worried Him. He put the hand down and decided to stroke Frank's face again, and felt relieved when He felt some warmth there…  
"Ah-"  
Frank's eyes fluttered open for the first time in 5 days.  
"Frankie." Gerard whispered, so softly, so fucking relieved—  
"Gee."  
Frank's voice was very, very weak and quiet, but it was okay. Frank had opened his eyes, and Frank had said Gerard's name… But Gerard wanted so much more; He wanted to hold Frankie so tight again like He hadn't since they were younger, He wanted to tell Frank how He felt, and He knew it would take awhile for Frank to trust Him again, but He didn't care. He just wanted Frank's love, and Frank's trust.  
"Frank… Can I talk to you?"  
"Yes…"  
Gerard's heart suddenly sped up to an incredibly fast beat as He contemplated exactly how to say this.  
"Frankie… I… Ah… I still love you."  
Frank looked at Gerard with hurt-filled eyes. "Why, Gee… Why did you break my heart?"  
"Oh, Frank… I'm so, so sorry, I swear. Remember your mother…? What she did to you for the times we were together?"  
Frank just continued to gaze into Gerard's eyes.  
"I said that to protect you, Frank... You were so stubborn, and I knew that no matter what she did to you, you would keep talking to me… So during that week we were apart I said to myself: 'I can't love Frank anymore. I have to keep him safe—' And Frank, you don't know how much it hurt me to say that to you, and to hear your voice when you asked me why, and…"  
His voice broke off as He saw more tears falling down Frank's face.  
"Don't… Bring… It up... I don't want to… Think about that…"  
"Please Frankie… Please believe me."  
"I do, Gee… Only because there seemed to be no reason that you said that to me, and I saw your eyes as you said it. You couldn't even look at me. Do you know the fucking PAIN you've caused me? For so many years I had to see you, and I had to remember all the times we had, and I learned to live with it, even though I was dying, oh so slowly, every day."  
Gerard lightly put His hand on Frank's chest, the only place with no needles sticking out of it. "Frankie, your scars… Back then I saw your broken wrist, and your black eye, and the cuts all over your face… But you never told me about this."  
"Because you said not to talk to you again. I wanted to make you happy, even if I couldn't be happy myself. When you went into your house, I took a knife and cut your name into my arm… I wanted to remember the agony you caused. But then at the prison, when you kissed me like that, you made me think that you still felt something. So I crossed out the 'd.' I still loved you, and I couldn't lie."  
Frank's voice was slightly stronger as he recalled his horrible past. He couldn't even sum up how to say to Gerard how he felt, and Gerard was starting to talk again…  
"Frankie, that night at the prison, I was so fucking relieved that you were okay that I finally gathered the courage that took ten years to build up. Why do you think I was shaking so fucking badly? You kissed me, and if I didn't love you I would've pushed you away. But I didn't. I held you and kissed you back until Korse came in. Frank, I'm admitting that I still am very in love with you. I've been since we were younger, and it's so, so good to know that you feel the same Way. I don't expect you to trust me, and that's okay. I want to build a trust with you that's so much better than before, and I want to love you in a Way I was never able to…"  
Gerard couldn't speak anymore. His voice was stolen by the tears that were falling from His eyes.  
He couldn't hug Frank like He wanted to, curse the needles everywhere in his body. So instead, He took Frank's hand very gently and kissed it.  
"I still love you too Gee… Do you think… We could be…"  
It was too hard for Frank to finish the sentence, because it was becoming increasingly hard to speak again. But Gerard knew what Frank meant, and He wanted it more than anything.  
"Frank Anthony Iero, you're the only thing I want."  
Frank's recovery sped up after that. Maybe it was because Frank wasn't hurting so much, and now when He saw Gerard all He felt was love… There was still a lot of pain and confusion and distrust, but there was happiness now, too.  
A week later, Frank was good enough to stand. The day before, Ray had said he was good enough to go, and the needles had been removed. Unfortunately, that very day, Mikey and Ray had disappeared.  
"BLI." Gerard automatically knew the reason. "Frankie, we have to go back."  
They were ready by the next day. For whatever reason, Mikey and Ray had left their guns behind, so Gerard and Frank took them before leaving.  
Searching for Ray and Mikey was harder than saving Frank. Korse had seriously stepped up his game, and the entire HQ was rigged with traps. As Gerard and Frank carefully made their Way through rooms shooting Dracs, they realized a very important detail: Korse had kidnapped Mikey and Ray in order to lure Gerard and Frank to the HQ. They were too late to turn back, and already too close to their goal. "Keep your gun close, Frankie."  
An hour later, Frank and Gerard found one of Korse's strongest traps: A land mine. If they stepped in the wrong spot they would be blown to pieces. One of the guns had slipped out of Gerard's belt and fallen to the ground, and a small explosion was triggered. Still, the impact was enough to force Gerard and Frank back.  
"We can't turn back. We've already gotten this far."  
They looked around them and slowly backed up against a wall, thinking it was a good place to think about what to do.  
An hour later, they couldn't figure anything out. They had experimentally thrown one of Gerard's gloves at the place where the gun had fallen, and the explosion was even stronger than before. They threw the other one behind them, and another explosion went off. They had been lucky walking here, but now they couldn't go forward and couldn't go back. If they stepped in one wrong place, they'd be killed.  
"Hey Gerard… I just got this feeling that one of us won't make it out alive."  
"Frank, don't think like that. We'll keep each other safe, I promise. He looked at Frank's face, and he had that look in his eyes that he would always get so long ago when he wanted Gerard…  
So this was an odd time, but deep inside Gerard knew that the odds were against Frank. It would be like before: One gun against Korse and his Draculoids wasn't going to cut it.  
"Frankie… Kiss me."  
He knew this might be one of their last kisses, and He wanted Frank to really enjoy it. He'd kissed Frank since he'd regained the ability to walk, but it never summed up all those years of pain. So He'd show Frank now, against a wall, in an unknown hallway of BLI's HQ. What they didn't know was… Right past the land mines was the room where Korse was holding Ray and Mikey hostage.  
Gerard pinned Frank against the wall with his hands above his head and kissed him with a burning need He'd never felt before. Frank was amazed at the obvious passion Gerard was putting into this. He was even more surprised when he heard Gerard's voice…  
"Mmm… Uh, ah…"  
Gerard wanted Frank so badly that He was now moaning into the kiss, and Frank couldn't help but to be seriously turned on. It didn't help when Gerard intensified the kiss so much that if someone happened to be in the next room or walked by them, that person would hear Gerard and Frank's tongues as they intertwined, and the sound of Gerard sucking on Frank's lower lip. Their moans did not escape the ears of Ray and Mikey, who were surprised that anyone could be so loud, but terrified that their allies were there. They knew what Korse's plans were... Still, they couldn't ignore the fact that the halls were filled with the sounds of Gerard and Frank's kiss.  
"Ah… Oh, Gerard…" Frank groaned against Gerard's lips.  
"Mmm, Frankie… Fuck, you taste so good…"  
Up until that moment, Gerard had been holding Frank's hands above his head with one hand, and the other was at the back of Frank's neck, keeping their lips deliciously connected. Now, as they resumed the kiss Gerard moved the hand that had been above Frank's head down to his waist where He began drawing tiny circles with His thumbs.  
"Damn it Gee… Ah—" Frank gasped as Gerard's hands slowly traveled down his waist until He was being pulled even closer with Gerard's hands possessively squeezing his ass.  
Frank moved one arm so it was around Gerard's waist and used the other to softly stroke Gerard's inner thigh.  
"Oh, Frankie… Mmm… Ah- ah, Frank, I'm-!"  
Gerard never finished the sentence or the kiss. He heard the sound of a button being pushed before He and Frank were torn apart and shot with tranquilizer guns. The last thing Frank saw was his mother… She had joined BL/ind.  
They woke up several hours later, chained together back to back. Their arms were locked up, but their hands were free. "Shit Gerard… We… Really don't have a chance against BLI, do we?"  
Gerard hated to say this, but it was the truth. "No… We don't really have anything right now."  
He and Frank's hands just sort of found each other, and Gerard squeezed Frank's to comfort him.  
"It's not me I'm worried about Gerard… It's you."  
Gerard stroked the outside of Frank's hand with His thumb. "Don't worry about me Frankie. Worry about yourself."  
"Just… Gerard, I love you so much, and you're the one who took care of me in the desert, and even though you broke my heart it was for a good reason, and you're what I live for, and-"  
"Shhh…" Gerard wanted to go over and hug Frank from the back, and make him feel even more loved, and to just comfort him in general… "Frankie, I can't say it's going to be okay, but I can promise I'll guard you with everything that I am."  
"And that's exactly why I'm worried about you."  
Frank squeezed Gerard's hand tighter, and Gerard had to admit… Frank did have a point. "Frankie, please… I honestly don't know what to say to this, and I've said that I love you so many times, but how do I prove it to you…?"  
"Gee, I've said the same to you so many times, and you don't need to prove it. Just hearing your voice when you say my name and the Way your heart beats when you hold me and the heat of your lips when you kiss me, and even how you're holding my hand right now… If you honestly wanted to prove it, just keep doing what you already are."  
"I feel like it's not enough. After what I did to you before… I still feel really bad about that."  
Frank couldn't think of anything to say, so he just held Gerard's hand silently and hoped that they'd both be okay. The room became so silent that they could hear each other breathing. Gerard looked around to search for an escape route, but all He saw were computers, chairs, and tightly shut windows. Darkness surrounded them, and they eventually fell asleep.  
Sometime in the middle of the night, Gerard opened His eyes to see Frank's father standing in the room, just staring at them. Gerard tried to stay as silent as He possibly could, wondering if Frank's father knew that He was awake. Frank was still asleep, and Gerard did His best to not wake Him up. Slowly, Frank's father began walking towards them, knife in hand, and Gerard got this feeling that they would either be tortured or killed. Instead, they were gagged and brought to Korse. The knife was to keep them from trying anything…The gags were removed as Korse spoke to them.  
Korse only knew them by their Killjoy aliases, and that was how he addressed them. "Party Poison. Fun Ghoul. How I've been waiting for you to come back. It seems that taking Jet Star and Kobra Kid was my only choice! And what an excellent choice it turned out to be. So, since I am one to keep my word, I plan to have you both tortured. Who wants to go first?"  
Okay, so Frank was going to worry about Him, but it was better than watching Frank get hurt. "Take me, you motherfucker. I promise you, if you don't just kill me on the spot, I'm gonna live."  
"It's too bad those weren't my plans. Dracs!"  
Gerard struggled against His chains as the Draculoids flooded the room and immediately took Frank away. They grabbed the chain around Gerard's neck and pulled Him with them. Gerard grimaced as He saw where they were going. After this, if they fucking LIVED through it, He would find some Way to kill Korse… Because hurting Frankie was the biggest mistake Korse could ever make, and now Gerard was unstoppable.


	7. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 7

The Dracs surrounded them for a few minutes until Korse walked in. Wordlessly, he grabbed Frank by the wrists and tied him to a pole in the center of the room that Gerard hadn't seen because His vision had been blocked by the Draculoids. After tying the red haired Killjoy to a separate pole Korse walked over to a wall which was littered with hooks from which hung several types of whips. He took a moment to choose one, then proceeded to rip Frank's shirt off and begin hitting him.  
"FRANK! YOU HAVE TO FUCKING HOLD ON!" Gerard screamed at the top of His lungs.  
He stared with horror as Frank's face contorted with pain as Korse beat him.  
"Please… Gerard…" He cried out desperately as the whip hit his back for the 10th time.  
The worst part was that there was nothing Gerard could do to help Him. He could only be forced to watch Frank's blood spilled to the floor as more and more wounds were opened up.  
Korse laughed and Frank tried with all his will to not scream. He was attempting to stay quiet so Gerard wouldn't know how much pain he was in… He knew that Gerard would be next…  
Gerard struggled to get out of His bonds, but they were so fucking tight… And even if He managed that there were still the Dracs who had surrounded Him, guns pointed at His throat, ready to attack.  
Gerard's eyes widened as He watched the blood running down Frank's back. God, there were so many scars… He wondered what Korse thought when he saw the marks already on Frank's body, and if their enemy had seen the cut on Frank's upper arm…  
The sight of Frank being beaten so badly only brought up more memories of their bitter past. Frank's entire body shook with fatigue, and Gerard could tell he was about to pass out.  
Frank had been crying out with pain for the past half hour, and now as Korse finally threw the whip to the Dracs to be cleaned and unchained Frank, the young Killjoy collapsed on the ground, unable to stand.  
"Your boyfriend is unconscious… What a pity. We'll have to postpone your beating until tomorrow. Dracs! Take these men to the prison cells!"  
He forgot to tell the Dracs to keep them separate, and the stupidity of the masked men got Gerard and Frank thrown into the same cell. Gerard watched them walk away with Frank's blood literally dripping off of their hands. Once they were alone Gerard moved closer to Frank.  
"I need to clean you up…" He whispered to the unconscious man.  
He ripped off His shirt and pressed it to Frank's back which was bleeding so much more than it had when Frank's mother beat him. There was no Way that Gerard could make all the bleeding stop, but He kept the shirt pressed hard against Frank's back, hoping to stop at least some of it.  
"Aaaah…!"  
Frank moaned with agony as he slowly woke up.  
"You're awake?" Gerard asked gently.  
Frank was unable to reply; the only sounds he could make were those of pain.  
"I cleaned you up as much as possible…"  
Frank looked up at Gerard, who was now filled with worry and rage at the look of hurt in Frank's eyes.  
"Can you sit up?"  
Frank tried, but could only half sit with his shoulders barely touching the wall and Gerard's hand still on his back for support.  
"Frank, I swear to you I'll kill him, if it helps at all…"  
He realized that talking to Frank wouldn't soothe his pain, and for once He felt entirely hopeless.  
"Tell me if this hurts, okay?"  
He had to make Frank feel good somehow, so He just placed one hand on Frank's sweaty, heaving chest and stroked it softly. His heartbeat was horribly fast, so fast it worried Gerard. Probably because of all the bleeding…  
Frank's whole body tensed for a moment, and then he relaxed into Gerard's touch as much as possible with all the pain. He closed his eyes and he was still trembling like crazy, but he definitely seemed to be doing better… Gerard moved His hands lower until He was running His free hand up and down Frankie's legs, trying His hardest to take away even a small fraction of the pain.  
"Ah…" Frank made a small sound, whether it was pain or something else Gerard didn't know. He just kept stroking Frank's legs until he fell asleep, which amazed Gerard. Still, He kept the now soaked shirt pressed against Frank's back and one hand on his thigh…"  
"Hey fags, guess who your new prison guard is?"  
Gerard looked up into the menacing eyes of Frank's mother.  
"It was fun watching that beating! Frank really deserved it, and I hate that I was never able to give it to him myself… Maybe if I serve lord Korse well enough he'll let me beat you!" She literally giggled with malicious glee.  
Gerard couldn't say anything, couldn't take His hands off of Frankie, and couldn't do anything. If she was here then Gerard would be unable to give Frank what little attention He could provide… And this just might be The End for Frank, dying painfully in the enemy's headquarters… There was no fucking Way He could let that happen. He had to do something.


	8. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 8

"Ya know what? I don't give a fuck what you do to me. However, I won't tolerate what you've done to Frank. Beat me all you want, torture me, but don't expect me to sit back while you constantly hurt him. Try one more time, and I swear I will fucking kill you, and your husband, and Korse."  
She just smirked when she saw the pure anger and hatred written on Gerard's face and burning in His eyes.  
"Oh, does it bother you that I'm touching your boyfriend? Is that it?"  
Gerard didn't like the term 'boyfriend,' but He kept His eyes level with hers, and replied "Yes. Keep your filthy fucking hands away from him."  
"Gerard Way. There is seriously nothing you can do to keep me away-"  
"Try it, and I'll kill you!" Gerard said through gritted teeth. He gently removed His hand from Frank's back and stood up to stare her down. He knew He must've looked pathetic, getting into an argument from behind bars where He couldn't do anything, but since there was nothing else He could do, He just stood there…  
He turned His head to look at Frank, who had been woken up by the yelling. Gerard ran over to kneel at his side and brush the hair that had fallen into his face away. "Sorry Frankie…"  
Frank just groaned in pain and looked up at his mother with hatred in his eyes.  
Frank's mother turned away and sighed. "Tell me when you're done with your little gay moment. Korse told me everything I need to know, and he's right—absolutely disgusting."  
Gerard ran back to the front of the cell, but Frank's mother had already left the room. Maybe she was going to go tattle to Korse about the argument she'd just had with Gerard. At the moment, Gerard couldn't care less. He had to tend to Frank.  
"Frank, are you doing any better?"  
He looked up at Gerard, and that was all he could do.  
"You still can't talk?"  
Frank shook his head.  
"I'm so, so sorry all this happened. And now your mother is our prison guard. But I don't care what she says, I'll still love you just the same." He smiled reassuringly at Frank, who only gave Him a miserable look.  
"You look like you need a hug…" Gerard said sadly.  
Frank nodded, and Gerard was so upset that, again, He was unable to comfort Frank by holding Him. He hadn't held Frank since before they'd been chained up together and before Frank had been beaten… And they had been making out, so that didn't count as a hug, because they were too wrapped up in the pleasure and—  
So technically He hadn't held Frank since they were at the diner.  
"Oh, Frankie…" Gerard whispered hopelessly.  
Frank opened his mouth in an attempt to speak and managed to whisper "Gee…"  
Gerard's heart was literally breaking now. Frank was suffering so badly, and he had never tried to hurt his mother or Gerard, even though they had both hurt him. When they stared into each other's eyes, there was always so much undeniable passion in Frank's gaze that Gerard just wanted to shove him against the wall and kiss him harder than He had the day before all this. Gerard had cried several times during these events, and Frank had only cried once, while in his coma. And now Gerard was crying again. But for once He didn't feel bad about it—He knew that Frank cried too when his heart was shattered into a million pieces, and this time He wanted His lover to know what He was feeling, because it was something He couldn't put into words.  
It seemed like an hour that they communicated with their eyes. Both of them could tell what the other person was trying to say, as if their souls were connected. Finally Gerard just leaned over and kissed Frank's lips tenderly, something He realized He hadn't done for so long. This time, the kiss was filled with care and passion and longing.  
He hadn't felt Frank kiss Him this softly for so long either, and Frank carefully wrapped his arms around Gerard's neck as their tongues gently explored each other's mouths, even though they both knew the other person's taste by heart.  
Finally Frank pulled away from Gerard to lean against Him with his head against the warm, muscular chest that he loved so much. He loved everything about Gerard, and he held himself there by wrapping his arms around the other man's body.  
Gerard was still upset that He couldn't hug Frank back, but at least Frank was making the effort to be close to Him, even with the constant agony he was in.  
"I love you Frankie," Gerard whispered, running His hands through Frank's damp hair.  
"Gee," Frank whispered again.  
Even when it was quiet and weak, Gerard loved the sound of Frank's voice saying His name. Some of the broken pieces of Gerard's heart fixed themselves when Frank pulled away for a little bit to smile up at Gerard. Gerard gave Frank a tired smile back, and Frank rested his head on Gerard's chest again and fell asleep. Eventually Gerard fell asleep too with His hands still tangled up in Frank's hair. Both of them knew that a horrible fate was waiting for them when morning came, but for now they had each other and that was enough.


	9. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 9

A small window in their cell let in a little sunlight, indicating that it was morning. Gerard woke up to find Frank still lying against Him, so He tried His best not to wake the wounded man up. He looked over Frank's shoulder to see that his back had at least stopped bleeding. Still, there was dried blood everywhere and it looked horrible. Korse had really done a good job, and Gerard didn't know what to think of the fact that He was next. He'd rather be hit by Frank's mother than Korse, because she was weaker and He had a better chance of escaping…  
Frank awoke to a world of pain. The moment that sleep left him he groaned, immediately feeling the aftereffects of the whipping.  
"There anything I can do?"  
Frank tried to push himself closer to Gerard, because fuck, the prison cell was cold. This was the most miserable he had ever been, and he hated his life so much at the time. If Gerard wasn't there… If Gerard wasn't there, he would find a Way to die. Anything to escape the pain. And now, he had to witness Gerard go through the exact same thing he had, which just made him moan with more agony.  
"Frankie… What's on your mind?"  
The moment the words left His lips He wished they hadn't. What was on Frank's mind was pain. Only pain. And He knew that. He just wanted to hear Frank say that he loved Him still….  
"You," Frank said quietly, looking up at Gerard with sad brown eyes.  
"Why…?"  
"I don't want to see… Ah…" Frank's sentence was cut off by another soft cry of agony.  
Gerard knew perfectly well what Frank was talking about, and, since it was currently the only thing He could do, He lifted His hands to pet Frank's hair again, trying so hard to comfort the other guy—  
Frank just moaned against Gerard's chest, and as the vibration spread through Gerard's whole body, He finally realized, somewhat, just exactly what kind of pain He was about to be put through.  
"Oh Gerard~!" A woman's voice sang out.  
Frank's mother waltzed into the room dressed in all leather, whip in hand. "Korse gave me the privilege of carrying out your punishment!"  
Gerard sighed and looked up at Frank's mother, dreading the pain that was about to be inflicted on Him.  
"Frank~ You're coming too!"  
She took a small key out of her pocket to unlock the cell's door, and grabbed Gerard's hand, which was covered in Frank's blood.  
"Ooooh, blood! How delicious."  
This woman was seriously creepy, and Gerard was wondering how Frank could be so amazing, and sweet, and loving… How was he the offspring of someone this twisted?  
She pointed a gun to Gerard's throat and chained His hands together. She did the same to Frank, who had no choice but to watch Gerard get hurt. He screamed with pain as his mother 'accidentally' scraped his back with her nails.  
"Oh, did I hurt your Fwankie?" She mocked Gerard. "You better save this poor kid!"  
Gerard raised His leg to kick her and managed to land a good shot, right in her gut.  
"Gerard," she gasped out. "You just made your punishment so… Much… Worse... Dracs!"  
The evil army of white suited men surrounded Gerard and Frank and pulled them towards the room where Frank had been whipped. Now Gerard noticed Frank's blood on the ground, and the water dripping off of the cement walls. He was chained to same pole that Frank had been, and Frank was tied to the other one. His hands were secured tightly above His head, leaving His shoulders and back totally exposed. He gasped when He felt a freezing sensation against His chest as it was pressed against the cold, hard metal..  
"Frank, have fun watching your little boyfriend get His first… Taste… Of pain!"  
As she said the last words, she gave Gerard His first lash. He struggled against the cold metal chains as He screamed out in agony.  
"Well, well, well. It seems to me like you've never felt this kind of pain before! It makes me feel honored to know that I get to be the one to introduce you!"  
Gerard arched His back as He felt the whip again, this time harder than before.  
"Does it hurt, Gerard?"  
This time, Gerard was embarrassed as He cried out. He kept His eyes shut tight, partly from the searing pain and partly because He didn't want to see Frank's face, didn't want Frank to see the look in His eyes which He knew would hurt the other man even more. As if watching Him getting whipped didn't hurt enough…  
"Focus on the pain. Now, imagine how it felt to Frank when Korse ripped open all His old scars that I had the pleasure of giving him! Imagine your Frankie feeling this Way… Every… Single… Day… Of… His… Life."  
Suddenly Gerard had more sympathy for Frank than He had before. The whip felt like fire against His back, and He almost wondered if He was being burned alive instead of beaten, but the sound the whip made as it sang through the air was proof that He was still receiving the same sort of punishment.  
For what seemed like hours, Gerard knew nothing but pain. He could barely feel the sticky heat of His own blood as it flowed down His back, but could feel the, up until now, unflawed skin of His back being torn. He screamed until His voice was hoarse, and until He could barely scream anymore. Finally He felt Himself being unchained, and it was by Korse.  
"We don't want Him to die yet, do we? I can tell you're having fun with this!"  
Those were the last words Gerard heard, and, like Frank, collapsed to the floor, passing out in a pool of His own blood.  
He woke up again later, gasping and choking on the red liquid that He found Himself coughing up. Desperately, He looked around for Frank before He realized only by the warmth against the skin of His arms that Frank was sitting right there with his hands in Gerard's soaked red hair. He felt Frank combing his fingers through it, and He realized that Frank was trying to get some of the blood out that it had taken in when He was unconscious on the floor.  
He tried to speak and found that He couldn't. He now realized why Frank couldn't talk at first. It was from all the screaming. He looked at Frank to see tears in the chocolate eyes that He knew so well.  
"Gee, I know how much it hurts..."  
Frank seemed to have found the strength to talk a little more since the previous day, because He kept speaking soothingly to Gerard. Gerard was too absorbed in His own horror to hear much of what was being said, but the soft tone of Frank's voice was able to calm Him down a little.  
"There. I got most of the blood out."  
Frank's hands were stained red, and he looked horrible. Gerard didn't want to know how He looked Himself, so He closed His eyes and breathed as much as He could with His chest against the cold stone floor.  
"My father brought some water by. I used most of it to clean your hair and body, but there's still some left. Drink it when you're able to."  
Frank couldn't speak anymore. His voice was tired and his throat hurt from the tears He'd been holding back until now. He hated for Gerard to see him crying, but Gerard was his lover, his hero, his best friend—now the other Killjoy couldn't even speak, couldn't stand up, and couldn't move enough to get a drop of water past His lips. He just layed on the ground without moving at all.  
His tears fell on Gerard's back, making little rivulets of dried blood run down it. He wondered if his back looked as bad as Gerard's, or worse. He knew that the pain Gerard felt was worse than his own, because he was so used to getting beaten, and Gerard had never felt it before…  
Frank was about to say something when his father walked in.  
"Frank."  
Frank looked up with hate in his eyes. However, the hate turned to shock as something was forced into his hands. He looked down to see two ray guns… The ones belonging to him and Gerard. Frank's father nodded at him, then quickly escaped the room.  
Gravity  
Don't mean too much to me  
I'm who I've got to be  
These pigs are after me, after you  
Run away  
Like it was yesterday  
When we could run away  
If we could run away, run away from here

"Gee… We got our guns back."  
Gerard struggled to lift His head so Frank could hear Him. "Shoot me."

Frank looked at Gerard with despair filled eyes. Gerard Way wanted to be shot. He was in that much pain. Still, Frank knew how it felt… He had wanted to die, and he would've if he hadn't been with Gerard.  
"Listen Gerard. We didn't get our guns back just so that we could kill ourselves. We got them back so that we could fight Korse and get Mikey and Ray out of here. We got them…"  
Frank's eyes showed no emotion as he said the words "So I can kill my mother."  
The uncaring look in his eyes changed back to a passionate state as he continued. "Gerard, I felt this every day of my life. I felt this just yesterday. I feel it now. I understand your pain. You may hate me for it now, you may think that I'm trying to make you suffer, but I refuse to kill you. Look at me. I haven't killed myself!"  
Gerard just lowered His head so His forehead was, again, touching the ground. Frank had a point, and when they were both better they would bust out of this prison along with the other 2 Killjoys. There was still the problem of Korse, who had Mikey's gun. Then there were the Dracs, and Frank's mom. At least they weren't totally defenseless now…  
Gerard felt Frank's hands on the backs of His legs, which He realized was the same method He'd used to touch Frank the day before. It worked exactly the same Way on Him as it had on Frank, and He fell asleep within an hour.  
Why did people always wake them up when they were in pain? They had fallen asleep finally somewhat comfortable when a bucket of water splashed across their faces.  
"Both of you. Showers. Lord Korse requires you to share, because he doesn't want you wasting water. Don't have too much gay sex. Also, somewhat decent clothes have been provided, because the sight of your backs makes my lord sick. He requires your presence, so make yourselves look presentable. Dracs will be waiting outside the bathroom door, so don't try any funny shit."  
She turned a small golden key in the lock, and Frank took note of the fact that she put it in the pocket of an elaborate silk dress, which she was wearing for the audience with Korse. She then grabbed them by their wrists, which she quickly bound with chains.  
Even up to this point Gerard had never realized the size of BLI's HQ. It took Frank's mother at least 10 minutes to get them from the prison to the bathroom, and once she unchained them and left Frank and Gerard stripped and got into the shower.  
The water caused constant pain, but at least it cleaned the sweat, blood, and grime off of their skin. Frank picked up a bar of soap and a washcloth off of a small shelf and gently began rubbing Gerard's body.  
He ran the course (no pun intended) cloth across Gerard's chest first, carefully scrubbing off all the red stains that had spattered across it during the beating. He then moved to Gerard's arms, then down to His legs. When Frank reached that area, Gerard actually sighed with pleasure. He'd been in a world of hurt since He and Frank had arrived 5 days ago, and now just the feeling of the man He so deeply loved tenderly washing His body with a mildly scented soap made Him realize He had to keep on living. Because underneath the rough cloth and cheap cleanser was Frank's touch and Frank's love, which He'd fallen for so many years back…  
Now He felt a more playful edge to Frank's caresses as the washcloth was abandoned and those fingers crept up His right thigh to teasingly stroke the area between His legs…  
"No Frank…"  
Frank had gotten down on his knees and was biting Gerard in a Way that made Him shudder. The gentle indentations those teeth made as they scraped across His bare flesh were enough to made Him let out a soft moan He'd been holding back.  
"Frank… Not… Uh… Not at BLI…"  
Frank looked up to see Gerard's eyes clouded by lust and worry.  
"Why not?"  
"I want our… oh… to be special."  
Frank thought about this for a moment, then stood up.  
"You're right Gee. I'm not going to just give in at some random shower belonging to the enemy."  
He found a bottle of shampoo and squeezed some of it onto his hands, which he then rubbed together before applying it to Gerard's hair.  
He evenly spread the shampoo throughout it as he rubbed he rubbed soft circles on Gerard's scalp. Gerard sighed deeply and found Himself becoming less tense as Frank scrubbed His hair.  
"Okay, you're all cleaned off now," Frank grinned. "You're back doesn't look as bad anymore… Good thing we got these showers before the cuts could get infected…"  
Gerard didn't answer, He just picked up the washcloth and gave Frank the same treatment He'd just been given.  
Several minutes later they both stepped out. A small black towel for each of them layed on the bathroom counter along with a fresh change of clothes. They quickly dried off before examining the outfits which had been provided by—they guessed—Frank's mother.  
"What the hell is this…?!" Gerard yelled as loud as possible with His screwed up throat.  
The "clothes" if they could even be called that—made them feel like they were about to be raped by Korse. In front of them lay ripped, white, and very see-through t-shirts and tight black short shorts. Two chain collars lay there too, and the outfit was finished with long skinny black boots.  
"Why do they want us to wear these…?"  
"I don't know Gerard, but are we gonna do it?"  
They looked around for their regular, dirty Killjoy clothes but the garments were gone.  
"Frank, unless we're going to walk out there naked, we have no choice."

Gerard and Frank put the clothes on, collars and all, realizing that if they didn't they were liable for more torture. At least they were able to slip their guns, which they'd hidden under towels in the bathroom, into their boots.  
"Hey Gerard… You look kind of hot," Frank smirked.  
"Oh shut up." Gerard playfully smacked Frank's ass


	10. Bulletproof Heart Chapter 10 (final)

And though I know how much you hate this,  
Are you gonna be the one to save us  
From the black and hopeless feeling?  
Will you meet 'em when The End comes reeling?  
Hold your heart into this darkness  
Will it ever be the light to shine you out  
Or fall and leave you stranded?  
Are you gonna be the one left standing?  
Well you're gonna be the one left standing  
Well we're gonna be the ones left standing

Their playful flirting was ended abruptly by a knock on the door.  
"Gerard, Frank, Lord Korse will now accept you to be within his presence. Come with me."  
Frank's mother opened the door and grabbed the two Killjoys by their chains. She led them down several hallways and through various rooms filled with patrolling Dracs before they entered a main room, complete with a throne on which sat none other than Korse.  
"Party Poison. Fun Ghoul. I'm not going to delay on telling you why you're here."  
Gerard and Frank looked up to where Korse sat, his throne on a platform high above them.  
"To your left, you will find that Jet Star and Kobra Kid are also here."  
Frank and Gerard's heads turned to see that Korse was right. Their allies were standing there, held by Franks father, but in horrible shape.  
"What you're here for is for my entertainment. This woman," He gestured to Frank's mother, "came up with this splendid idea. What you will be doing is fighting each other. The first one of you to show signs of exhaustion will be shot by me. GO."  
Frank's father released Ray and Mikey from their bonds, and his mother did the same for Gerard and Frank.  
Ray immediately lunged towards Frank, tackling him. Frank made a sound of pain as he hit the ground and Ray started punching him. Gerard realized then and there that Ray might not be able to be saved. Obviously BLI had fucked him up in Ways that Gerard didn't want to imagine. Mikey took a few steps toward Gerard but stopped.  
"JET STAR! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?"  
At least Mikey hadn't lost his mind.  
Ray looked up from Frank, his fists bloody. "I'm turning Fun Ghoul into a Drac."  
Korse just laughed. "Amazing idea, Jet Star. Even I hadn't thought of that. Imagine how that will make Party Poison hurt."  
Gerard gritted his teeth against the thought. There was no Way that was going to happen, not while He still lived… but it was too late.  
Frank's black hair was already changing to grey, and the brown eyes that Gerard knew so well were fading to a deep, opaque black. Ray was pulling a mask out of his back pocket and forcing it over Frank's head. A needle was tossed from between his fingers somewhere behind him, and Frank's clothes were falling off to be replaced with the white uniform worn by one of BLI's Draculoids.  
So that was all it took. A simple shot. So there had to be a Way to get the poison out of Frank's system.  
But first there was Korse to take care of… And FRANK'S MOTHER.  
Silently, Gerard snuck up behind Frank's mother and grabbed his Ray-gun from his boot. Korse was watching the process of Frank becoming a Drac and didn't notice Gerard shoot Frank's mother down until she fell to the floor with a loud THUD. Korse looked up in surprise. "Oh, a Dead pawn. How grand. You!" He gestured to Frank's father. "Kill the Killjoy."  
"No."  
"Excuse me...?"  
Frank's father turned to Korse. "I said no. I must apologize for the life of my son, Frank Anthony Iero. And the things that happened to you, Gerard Arthur Way—those weren't right."  
Already knowing what was happening, Gerard tossed His gun to Frank's father, who caught it and started running up the stairs leading to Korse's throne. Ray tried to intervene, but Mikey held him back, hitting him in the back of the head with Frank's fallen gun. As he got close to Korse, the bald leader of BLI held out a hand holding his own gun to the younger man's chest. "Kill Party Poison now or I kill you."  
Frank's father shrugged. "Shoot—That is, SUIT—yourself."  
He held out his gun to the side of Korse's head and pulled the trigger, just as Korse also did the same. He fell to the ground in a pool of Blood, mixing with the remains of Korse's brain.  
The last thought that went through both their heads was "Frank and Gerard are in love."  
Gravity don't mean too much to me  
Is this our destiny?  
This world is after me, after you  
As soon as Korse died, so did his hold on Ray and all the other Dracs. All except Frank. Frank still lay there, unconcious, looking just as plain as all the other men had. They all came flooding into the room at once, hundreds of them—all just to thank Party Poison and Kobra Kid.  
Gerard looked up with amazement at all the Killjoys He'd once known while fighting BLI. Slowly they'd disappeared, and it was His understanding they'd just been ghosted…  
"Rebel Revolutionary? Summer Cyanide? Chaos Carburetor?!"  
He named 3 female ex-Dracs who He saw first. They'd been friends with Him and Frank since the very beginning, and were among the first to go.  
But then He looked at Ray, who was holding Frankie's body. "Why is Frank still a Drac?" He asked, panicked. "We don't know." Mikey had already picked Frank up and loaded him onto a stretcher that the three female Killjoys had brought in. "We need to get him back to the HQ and do some emergency surgery."  
Gerard immediately felt sick. "You!" He gestured to Cyanide, Chaos, and Rebel. "Do you know how to fix being a Draculoid…?"  
"It was said that the spell on us all would be broken after Korse's death," Rebel shrugged, not at all fazed by Gerard's presence. The other two were amazed to be near such a famous Killjoy after what had happened. "K… Korse said that… He… Would poison… F… Frank." Chaos stuttered, her long red hair trembling with the rest of her body.  
"Is that why he's not waking up?" Gerard pulled Frank away from Ray's hands and into His own arms. He'd already forgiven Ray; the other Killjoy had been under Korse's evil influence when he'd turned Frank. He didn't know what he had been doing. Still, Frank's body was so cold, and he must've been in a lot of pain.  
Rebel walked up to the two of them, holding out a hand. "I heard Korse talking about it one day when Dracs were brand new. Chaos, Cyanide, and I were among the first few to be turned. Unfortunately, they took forever trying to come up with something drastic to do to Fun Ghoul… They said that IF he ever turns back he will have forgotten everything from before he was turned."  
Gerard's eyes filled with tears. That meant that Frank would forget EVERYTHING they had ever had. But it was worth it. He needed Frank to be himself again, to be happy. Maybe if they could just forget their painful past then they could have that more amazing love that Gerard had been wishing for…  
"Okay."

The Killjoys' car was still waiting outside where Gerard and Frank had left it the week before. It still had gas in the tank, and Ray drove them back at top speed, shooting any cops who tried to mess with them. Frank was too important to waste any time or money on tickets.  
They'd taken Rebel with them too; as she'd shown some knowledge of what had happened to Frank. Secretly she was amazed at the Killjoys' diner base, but said nothing.  
Once they got inside they immediately took Frank to the room they'd originally used for his Blood purification.  
"Can you research what's going on?" Mikey asked.  
"Already on it." Ray was in the process of rolling up Frank's uniform sleeve and sticking a needle into his arm to test his Blood.  
"It says he was injected with a virus that chemically changed his mind and body. The only Way to get rid of it is surgery… We have to replace his heart. And even then, he will have forgotten everything, according to Rebel. The chances of him SURVIVING this surgery is 35/100. It's too risky, Gerard…"  
Gerard looked at Frank, and suddenly a crazy idea overcame his head. "Take my heart then."  
Mikey stared at him, amazed but somehow not surprised. "We can't lose our two best Killjoys, Gerard. You saved us from BL/ind, after all."  
"And I couldn't stand living to lose Frank. He means more to me than anything, more to me than life even." He shrugged. "We've defeated BLI, what more do I have to do? All the other Killjoys have been freed. There are plenty others who could take my place."  
"But they're not you, Gerard…" Rebel said softly. "You're PARTY POISON. You're an inspiration to every single Killjoy in Battery City."  
Mikey looked at Him sadly. "You're my brother. We've been together through everything. You can't live without Frank, and I couldn't live without you. I'm not sure about Ray or Rebel either."

Run away like it was yesterday  
If we could run away, run away, run away  
Run away from here… Yeah  
Away from here… Away from here….  
"I want to talk to him." Gerard suddenly said.  
"Okay… But be careful." Ray warned.  
Not caring, Gerard wandered up to Frank's side.  
"Frankie? Can you hear me? It's Gee."  
Frank didn't respond.  
"I love you. I always have and always will. Remember when we were kids, and you told me you first loved me, and I accepted you? Then that horrible time with your parents, and I told you I couldn't be with you… And I'm still so sorry. But the times between that were the best of my life. Holding you close was the most amazing feeling ever to me, and still is. Kissing you gave me butterflies and made my heart beat in a Way that I've never thought possible. I felt ALIVE."  
Gerard looked back to see Ray fake-gagging, but Rebel and Mikey stood there in silence.  
"Even now, this week we've just went through was amazing. It's just more that we've been through together, and more time we've made it alive. Being in BLI like that with you made me realize that I love you more than this entire world, and if I was fighting just to save you I still would. That's what I was doing originally, anyway. Saving you.  
"When I kissed you in that jail cell the first time, before Korse brought us to the desert, I was so happy to get to feel you again after so long… Like this."  
Gerard pressed His lips to Frank's, His final pain evident in the pressure of His kiss. Frank's mouth was un-restricted by the Draculoid mask. Gerard felt something else against His mouth. He moved to see if Frank was woken up, but first He had touch His lips. They were covered in Blood. And Frank was coughing.  
Blood spurted from Frank's mouth, and Mikey grabbed him to hold him up. Frank kept coughing up Blood for 3 minutes straight, until it stained the front of his uniform and his mask bright red. Then he layed back down, unconscious again.  
"We need to get changed and eat. C'mon, guys." Ray, Mikey, and Rebel left the room, a little disturbed by Gerard's actions towards Frank.  
Just as they left, Frank reached up and pulled off his mask. His eyes had gone back to brown. "Gerard," he whispered.  
Gerard just collapsed by his bedside, sobbing. "Things are going to be okay Frankie, I promise. And I love you."  
Frank reached out to pet Gerard's hair with a weak hand. "You're right.. We've been through so much together… And I sure as hell ain't giving up now."  
Weakly smiling, Gerard gathered his lover into an embrace.


End file.
